UK Visas and British Citizenship

We are asked this question a lot as requirements seem to be confusing. 1. There is a minimum salary of £20,300, it went up from £20,000 on 6 April 2013. This is just a minimum, so all Tier 2 General applicants must be offered at least that but it does not end there.   2. At the same time the minimum salary must be as on the Tier 2 Code of Practice here : http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/points/sponsoringmigrants/employingmigrants/codesofpractice/   Or if your job is on a Shortage Occupation List then salaries will also be on it here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/points/sponsoringmigrants/employingmigrants/shortageoccupationlist/   For example, if your occupation requires a minimum salary of £19,000 then you must be still offered at least £20,300 to qualify, otherwise your application will be refused.   However, if your occupation requires a minimum of, say, £30,000 then you must be offered minimum £30,000 (and not £20,300). If

1st 4Immigration is an accredited CPD distance learning provider, o ur online training courses are accepted by the OISC and SRA, CPD provider ref number EJE/14IM. Current courses: What’s Next after Post-Study Work and Tier 4 Visas? 4.5 hours CPD credit.   British Citizenship - a Dream for Many! 7 hours CPD credit. This course includes changes on criminality from 13 December 2012 and rules for EEA nationals including Bulgarian / Romanian (A2) whose first applications can be submitted in 2013. Download from our website, study in your own time on any computer, iPad or iPhone, complete the test and we will award your CPD hours and send you a certificate. Visit website now: http://www.1st4immigration.com/training The courses are offered by our company, 1 st 4Immigration Ltd, which is a practising immigration company, registered by The OISC at a highly respectable Level 2, based at the Royal Mint in Central London. We are also accredited by the UK Border Agency in

It is a common situation when the main applicant is about t qualify for an ILR on the basis of 5 years on Tier 1 General and/or Tier 2 visas, however, the spouse/partner has not spent enough time in the UK by then. Or has spent enough time but not enough on Dependant visas. Before 9 July 2012 we, advisers, had to advise the clients the following: if the main applicant chooses to get an ILR on hi/ her own, while spouse/partner has not spent the required 2 years in the UK (and on dependent visas), then the spouse/partner had to switch to a Spouse visa, FLR M application. Then, when the spouse/partner has achieved 2 years of residency (on dependent visas), he/she could apply for an ILR, making a SET M application. In the above cases the 2 years could be combined of PBS Dependant visas and a Spouse visa. All changed on 9 July 2012! Now it is possible to switch from a Tier 1 or 2 Dependant to an ILR without having to apply for a Spouse visa first. It would be a SET O application

You can use the assigned COS (Certificate of Sponsorship) when submitting your application after 6 April 2013. In other words, the new Tier 2 rules will be based on when your COS was assigned, rather than on when you are submitting your Tier 2 visa application. So, for applications based on a COS assigned by 5 April 2013 the old rules will continue to apply: old SOC codes, old salary thresholds etc.   For more advice or to submit an application, including on same-day service, please contact info@1st4immigration.com or visit www.1st4immigration.com If you are an immigration adviser or solicitor you may find useful our online training courses awarding Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours.: www.1st4immigration.com/training

  No appointments required!  Multi Travel Visas  can submit applications on next working day after receiving your documents, to the Passport Office in London, with authorisation from you as per the government requirements. For an extra charge we can submit on the same if we receive your documents, see below. No need to wait for an appointment, which can be a few days or week away and no need to travel to a passport office. We offer practical help when you need a new passport very quickly. For example, if you are living/working abroad (you can courier documents to our London office) and we can submit them promptly for same-day service, this includes if your passport has run out of pages. Or you don't have time to travel to a Passport Office yourself we can apply on your behalf (you don't have to come to London). Plus we check the documents, help complete the form and advise on requirements. FEES: Official fees of Passport Office (we pass them on to the

Who is it for? For those applying for an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR, permanent residency). Plus for those applying for British Citizenship who did not have to do it for an ILR. When is it changing? 25 March 2013. What if I pass the old version of the test before 25 March but apply for a visa after that? You can still use the old test certificate even if you are making an ILR visa application after 25 March 2013. Test does NOT have an expiry date! You won’t be able to take the old test from 25 March onwards, ie you’d have no choice but to take a new version of the test. But if you manage to pass the old test before 25 March then you CAN use it for a visa application after 25 March. In other words, it’s all about when you passed it rather than when you’ll be applying for an ILR. The main challenge would be booking a test before 25 March! What are the differences between the old and new test? The new test is based on the new handbook, which is presumably designed to

For our colleagues Immigration Advisers and Solicitors: Our online training course is accepted by The OISC and SRA, CPD ref number EJE/14IM.   What’s Next after Post-Study Work and Tier 4 Visas? 4.5 hours CPD credit.   Download from our website, study in your own time on any computer, iPad or iPhone, complete the test and we will award your CPD hours and send you a certificate.   Visit website now:  http://www.1st4immigration.com/training/whats-next-after-post-study-work-and-tier-4-visas-cpd.php   The course is offered by our company, 1 st 4Immigration Ltd, which is a practising immigration company, registered by The OISC at a highly respectable Level 2, based at the Royal Mint in Central London.   We are also accredited by the UK Border Agency in Croydon and submit applications using Premium service for accredited representatives. We provide biometric appointments every week (ILR, Tier 1, Spouse/Partner etc) and we have permanent slots to su

"Thank you 1st 4Immigration, not only for your prompt, knowledgable and professional service but also for the fact that you view your clients as people rather than numbers. You deal with each visa case individually, on a warm and personal basis". Clarissa, Malaysian national. Clarissa had a Tier 4 Student visa and completed a Master's degree in London. She had her employer sponsoring her for a Tier 2 visa. She could apply under Tier 2 as soon as she has completed her course (but not before). Her employer was prepared to provide a COS, though they had to start from the beginning, ie from obtaining a Sponsor Licence. Once licence has been granted, Clarissa's employer had to request allocation of extra certificates, so they requested one for Clarissa (we advised they could have done it at the same time as licence, to save time). It was  an unrestricted COS because Clarissa was eligible to switch to Tier 2 inside the UK. For an advice or to make your application

"Not again!", is it what's going through your mind? Perhaps one day we'll run a story: "Breaking news - the UKBA doesn't change a thing!" For now, here is a basic summary of the proposed changes: - start from the good news: if you have a COS assigned to you by 5 April 2013 then you can apply for a visa with that COS even after 5 April. In this case you'll be applying like Tier 2 rules haven't changed, ie the same codes as now, same salary as before 6 April etc. So, there is no need to rush and submit visa application now, you can do it after 6 April as long as your COS has been assigned to you no later than 5 April. And now changes for those with a COS assigned from 6 April: - minimum salary goes up from £20,000 to £20,300, in line with inflation. - New occupation codes, changed from SOC 2000 codes to SOC 2010. If it does not mean anything to you then it's basically different code numbers for many occupations and some occupations

For our colleagues Immigration Advisers and Solicitors: Our online training course is accepted by The OISC and SRA, CPD ref number EJE/14IM.   British Citizenship - a Dream for Many! 7 hours CPD credit.   The course includes changes from 13 December 2012 and rules for EEA nationals including Bulgarian / Romanian (A2) whose first applications can be submitted in 2013.     Download from our website, study in your own time on any computer, iPad or iPhone, complete the test and we will award your CPD hours and send you a certificate.   Visit website now:    http://www.1st4immigration.com/training/british-citizenship-a-dream-for-many-cpd.php   The course is offered by our company, 1 st 4Immigration Ltd, which is a practising immigration company, registered by The OISC at a highly respectable Level 2, based at the Royal Mint in Central London. We’ve had 100% success rate in 2012!   1 st 4Immigration Ltd, OISC no F200800152, SRA ref EJE/14IM.